jacon4
Well-known member
An interesting chest of drawers came on the market a few weeks ago, a chest i went after hard but lost, oh well, losing is a big part of collecting. This particular form chest was made in Boston between 1690-1720 by several different shops according to Frances Gruber Safford in her wonderful book "American Furniture In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art 1. Early Colonial Period: The Seventeenth- Century and William and Mary Styles". The MMA has one of these 24 or so known chests from the Bolles collection pictured in plate # 111 in Safford's book. Whats interesting about these chests is their transitional nature, frame & panel construction of the 17th century with a nod to the comming W&M style, with a single dovetail on the drawer construction and the ball feet. The frame is oak with the panels on drawer fronts and sides made from pine and although the feet & brasses are replaced and the painted decoration long gone, it's still an important piece of americana. The listing
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7899976
In plate 110 of Saffords book is a similar form chest made a few miles up the coast in Middlesix or Essix that still has it's original paint decoration and is the only known example that has it's paint intact, very impressive.
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7899976
In plate 110 of Saffords book is a similar form chest made a few miles up the coast in Middlesix or Essix that still has it's original paint decoration and is the only known example that has it's paint intact, very impressive.
